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See me jumping up and down? I have three of my favorite people on my blog! Not just three talented, amazing authors (who write about murder — double great!) but three wonderful, down-to-earth women who I like and admire.

JT with her cats, Jordan and Jameson (Or is it Jameson and Jordan? I can’t tell them apart!)

Not to play favorites (because like my children, it’s hard to pick a favorite author), but I’ve known J.T. almost as long as I’ve been published. Her debut thriller ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS came out in 2007, a year after my debut novel. And she asked me — ME! — then totally an unknown to read and blurb her book. I remember reading it on the plane from Sacramento to RT in Florida and being completely and totally hooked. We met for the first time at the first Thrillerfest, in Phoenix, AZ, where I met some of my favorite people in the business — that’s the weekend I also met Toni McGee Causey, who you all know from her time here as a contributor to MSW.

But I digress (surprise, surprise!)

When I heard that the Terrific Trio were back with a new book, I had to have them here on Murder She Writes. I’m not one for boring interviews (yawn) so I asked them a few fun questions and I hope you enjoy their answers.

My first book THE PREY was released on December 27, 2005 and my 30th book, MAKE THEM PAY, will be released on March 7th … only 3 short weeks away. I can write anywhere, by necessity, but I’ve never been on a writer’s retreat before … (You can click through to MAKE THEM PAY for all the pre-order links and whatnot!)

Make Them Pay — the 12th Lucy Kincaid thriller — on sale March 7th!

Before I sold my first book, I worked full time in the California State Legislature. And, I had kids. At first three … then four … and then five. Before I sold, I wrote at night after the kids went to bed. They were younger and I had a den in the house, so I could close off from the world and write for three hours every night after they went to bed, before I crashed for six hours. Then I’d wake at six a.m., get the kids off to school or daycare, and commute to work. It was a gruelling schedule, but I knew it wouldn’t be forever. My dream was to make my living writing fiction, and I knew that to achieve that dream I had to work my ass off for however long it took.

I quit my day job three years after I seriously started writing. By that time, I had the five kids and no longer had a den. I moved my desk into the living room, but that afforded no privacy. I’ve always been able to work with noise … it’s the interruptions that kill me.

So I started writing at Starbucks. Or a pub. Depended on what time of the day (or night) it was.

Okay, over it … but truly, this is an evocative, mysterious cover that certainly makes me want to grab a copy!

I’m thrilled to have Lisa back again this year blogging about her latest novel. Lisa Black has spent over 20 years in forensic science, first at the coroner’s office in Cleveland Ohio and now as a certified latent print examiner and CSI at a Florida police dept. Which pretty much means she knows a lot about her genre. 🙂 Lisa is a New York Times bestselling authors, and her books have been translated into six languages. Plus, one of her books has been optioned for a possible film or television series. Congrats!

I’m glad Lisa could return to MSW to share more about how UNPUNISHED came to be …

RT Book Reviews just published their March on-line edition … and MAKE THEM PAY received a Top Pick! I’m thrilled because I love this story and, considering that it’s Sean and Lucy’s 12th book, it still resonated and touched all the right notes. Yeah!

Here’s what the reviewer, Jill Smith, said:

Over the course of Brennan’s fantastic Lucy Kincaid series, readers have not only been treated to intricate and gripping suspense, but also the evolution of a complex relationship. At last Lucy Kincaid and Sean Rogan are about to tie the knot, but of course things cannot go smoothly. This time the threat is coming from within the Rogan family, which magnifies the treachery. By utilizing absorbing plots and building layered characters over the course of this outstanding series, Brennan keeps demonstrating she is one amazingly talented storyteller!

This weekend, I finished editing my copy edits for SHATTERED, the 4th Maxine Revere cold case mystery (on sale 8.22.17.) I received them on Monday the 9th, but didn’t sit down to work on them until Thursday … and finished them in three days. Trust me when I say I never get through copy edits so quickly. I was worried, so I spent Sunday and Monday morning going through them a second time because for certain I had missed something. I made a few more tweaks, but in the end, I’m very, very happy with this book and will be sending it back to NYC tomorrow … early. (Well, my editor won’t get them that early because I’m going to send them 2-day rather than overnight and save me about $40!)

The first thing I thought when I finished reading this book was how much I loved the story … and then I panicked. What if I love it but no one else does? How can I judge my own work? I already have a hard enough time judging my own stories.

Case in point: I wrote a book and sent it to my agent. I don’t want to say too much about it yet, but I loved the story and the characters. My agent read it and while he liked it (sort of) there were several problems. One big problem and several little problems. I spent ten weeks on and off working on revisions … and the story is SO much better than the original. I changed one seemingly small plot point, but it had a ripple effect through the story and the ending rocked.

But I thought the original was really good, too — and now I’m biting my fingernails waiting for notes on the revised book.

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Bio:

Allison Brennan

Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.